Redwood City council honors Marine Science Institute

Ask a room filled with people under age 30 who grew up in Redwood City whether they have visited the Marine Science Institute (MSI) and learned something about the ocean and San Francisco Bay, “I would venture to say about 90-percent would raise their hands,” Councilmember John Seybert said.

Since its founding 47 years ago, the nonprofit education center at 500 Discovery Parkway has served over 1.25 million school children, providing them opportunities to learn about the importance of respecting and protecting the marine environment, Seybert said.

“It’s millions of dollars in investment into the children of our community,” he added.

At Monday night’s Redwood City Council meeting, the MSI was recognized for its service to generations of community students. MSI Executive Director Marilou Seiff attended to accept the honor.

“It’s our absolute pleasure to take the students of this county out onto the Bay and teach them about science, teach them about what’s below the surface of that water, and hopefully create stewards of our local community and people that are really excited about being scientists,” Seiff said. “Our goal is to get every student in Redwood City out on programs multiple times a year.”

Seiff added, “Wouldn’t it be great to get every student in Redwood City out on the Brownlee?”

She was of course referring to the research vessel, the Robert G. Brownlee (pictured above).

The city can expect MSI to continue providing this resource for generations to come, Seiff said.

“As we reach 50 years in a short time, we have a visionary committee creating what we want to produce in the next 50 years,” she said. “Hopefully we will be coming back to the city council with our ideas and asking for more support for increasing our impact in the city and reaching every student that’s out there. So thank you very much for this.”